Sanjida O'Connell

My year of dressing ethically is up – although I’m not about to head straight to Primark.

So how did I do? I think I’d give myself a B – but only due to a great deal of help from people kind enough to take the time to share their expertise, such as Dr Kate Fletcher from the Centre for Sustainable Fashion at London College of Fashion, Lee Holdstock, textile consultant and Clio Turton from the Soil Association, not to mention the many designers I’ve spoken to over the past year.

My report sheet will say my aversion to charity shops needs work but given that I will soon a) have a small baby, b) no job and c) no money, I might get over myself.

So, in my journey to discover fashion’s dark secrets, did I stick to my principles? Pretty much. BP – before pregnancy – the things I bought which weren’t ethical were thin tights (Falke and Ashton do thick organic cotton and wool ones and you can find organic bamboo and wool socks) and underwired bras (read about Daisy Green’s efforts to get an underwired bra made) and sports bras, none of which you can buy ethically yet unless you are flat-chested.

Although you can get green knickers, apart from Patagonia’s sports briefs, I don’t like the cut, feel or price of any I’ve seen and have stuck with Sloggis (which last for years!). Special occasion lingerie is a different issue and I’d happily wear ones by Get Cutie and Eco Boudoir.

Out and out bad practise though was a tunic from H&M for £5 made of viscose. I know. Bad, huh? My excuse was that it was the day before my week-long sewing course and I panicked thinking I’d need a project. The tunic is made of two bits of material and a ribbon so I thought I could re-create it in the class out of soy jersey. In the end it proved most useful during pregnancy.

DP – during pregnancy – I bought a beautiful Komodo top and an Alchemist wool shrug from Equa Clothing, which I know I’ll wear in the future too.

The rest of my wardrobe was second-hand Isabella Oliver from ebay. The exceptions were jeans from J Brand, who make fabulous organic jeans just not in maternity sizes, a couple of things from Isabella Oliver that I wasn’t able to find on ebay and a swimming costume. I hasten to add I didn’t buy any of these clothes but coerced other people into getting them for me so I could be well dressed and maintain a clean conscience.

Over the past year I’ve discovered a lot of depressing facts: that the production of our most common fabrics – cotton, polyester and viscose – cause untold environmental damage, threaten human health and result in the over consumption of energy and water.

And even more depressing figures: a quarter of all pesticides used globally are sprayed on cotton. A fifth of all our clothes are only worn a handful of times. In the UK we throw away 2.3 million tons of textiles, half of which ends up in landfill.

But I’m optimistic. I think we’ll see a rise in organic and fairtrade fabrics over the next decade. People will become increasingly aware of their shopping habits. Ethical clothes will become more mainstream. A new labelling system will be developed so that we can track our clothes from oil drop or cotton boll right through to the finished garment.

Scientists will create new and ever more desirable fabrics and cleaner dyes and a young generation of designers will think more about the ethics of fashion and embrace these novel textiles and technologies.

And, in the meantime, I think by now we all know the answers – buy less, take care of your clothes, recycle, make your own, customise, charity shop, buy on ebay, go vintage, swap, swish, spend more on quality garments or head for ethical designers and companies.

As for me, being pregnant is a sartorial nightmare but there’s always a silver lining. It made me think very carefully about exactly what one needs and the minimum one can get away with and helped me design the template wardrobe I wrote about last week. PP – post pregnancy – I’ll edit my wardrobe heavily and will try and stick to the plan I outlined.

I aim to buy a new set of long-sleeved tops (I’m desperately waiting for Howies to reissue their merino wool base layers), an LBD from From Somewhere, a pair of tailored trousers by Deborah Lindquist and a jumper from Izzy Lane.

Given most of what I wear is black, I’ll invest in a few jewel coloured tops from charities or dress agency, Bristol’s The Rag Trade (soon opening in Brighton too). Once I’ve plugged the gaps in my template wardrobe, I aim to follow Kate Fletcher and only buy two pieces a year. But, most of all, I’m looking forward to having my old clothes back. Absence really does make the heart grow fonder.

Thanks for reading.

Read more ‘Year of Dressing Ethically’ blogs on Daisy Green

Sanjida O’Connell’s new book, The Naked Name of Love, is out now, published by John Murray.